To Spotsylvania Court House
TWO DAYS OF fighting had left the- two armies bloody and exhausted. Each side entrenched and waited for the other to attack. Believing that Lee was preparing to abandon the Wilderness and retreat to Richmond, Grant issued orders for a night inarch to Spotsylvania Court House. Spotsylvania stood between the Wilderness and the Confederate capital. Whoever reached the village first would have the shortest route to Richmond.
The Union army quietly began pulling out of its trenches after dark on May 7. Warren and Hancock took the Brock Road (modern Route 613), while Sedgwick and Burnside marched by routes farther to the east. Anticipating Grant's move, Lee started his army for Spotsylvania that same night. Whoever held the village would have the shortest route to Richmond.